Myth Bust Monday: You can target fat burn

Wouldn’t it be nice if we could decide what part of our bodies we lose weight? If we could just think that we’d like to lose a little off the the thigh area or a little off the second chin we’ve named Craig. 

Sadly we can’t. I’ve heard this wives tale, and I don’t know if it’s true. It goes like this: the first place we put weight on is the last place we lose it. I have to say as a person who gained 75 pounds with each child I gave birth to, I have no idea where things came and went. I took my time and didn’t really worry about it because it’s a natural process so I let my body do its thang. It was maybe almost a year until I decided to get serious about losing weight after child birth. I think it made it easier as I didn’t think about it until I knew my body was back to her normal self and it made losing that last bit quite easy. I digresssssss. 

Due to miss information and maybe desperation people believe they can lose weight in a specific area with a certain exercise. I have been asked one million times what exercise can I do to get rid of my underarm skin. It’s actual skin. There is no exercise to reduce the amount of skin. I obviously know they think it’s fat, and are asking for a way to make the fat go away or appear differently. It simply isn’t something one million tricep extensions can address. 

I think there have been a lot of products or promises of spot reduction with the purchase of said things. We would all love to have something to take away what we dislike on our bodies. I would love to be taller, have a massive thigh gap, and reduce the size of my ankles. I can’t change those and I’ve accepted that. Mostly.

The simple fact is that you can’t spot reduce. You cannot target a certain area with a specific exercise and have it turn to something else or be less. 

In weight loss your body will lose where it wants. It seems genetics are the biggest factor in terms of how your body gains weight and how it loses weight. Maybe have a look around you at your family members. Maybe there is some insight into how your body may handle things. Also there is a chance you will never know, you just have to keep at it until you get where you want to be.